Bond's gadget-packed DB5 up for auction

If you're a self-respecting James Bond nut, like each and every one of the Pocket-lint team, you'll know that there's one car that steals every scene its in; the Aston Martin DB5.

It has featured in Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale, but it's only in the latter two movies that the gadget-laden original is seen in its complete glory.

And now, one of the cars that starred in the two 60s Bond films is up for sale; the one that's jam-packed with more gadgetry than an Anne Summers rep's briefcase.

The car with the number plate FMP 7B, which was used for scenes involving its "modifications", was bought by American radio broadcaster, Jerry Lee, for the princely sum of $12,000 in 1969. It has been under lock and key in a "Bond-themed garage" ever since, but the staggering sum of money it is expected to fetch at auction has prompted him to sell.

Auctioneers RM Auctions believe that the DB5, which is still operable (including all of the gadgets, such as the number-plate changer in the boot), could net Mr Lee around $5 million - approximately £3.4 million - when it goes up for sale in Battersea, London on 27 October 2010. Not a bad return.

Of course, unless you play for Manchester City, this might be beyond you. But, we have found a cheaper option: A highly collectable, first-edition Corgi model of the car is on sale on ebay.co.uk, with a current bid of £65.99. That's a smidgeon over £3,399,934 cheaper. And you don't need a garage to keep it in. Result!

Our senior ed of news and features has been a tech and games journalist for more than 27 years, and has been with Pocket-lint for over five. Rik has edited a number of videogame magazines in the past, was deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice, and his TV career included stints as co-presenter of Channel 4's Gamesmaster and Sky One’s Games World.